Hotel Magnolia - Santiago, Chile
Santiago is a very important hub when travelling to Chile. It is the place you first land when arriving to the country and it is the only hub when going anywhere. During our trip we changed, stayed or departed in Santiago five times (which would have been six times if I would have gone to Atacama), three times of it we spend a night there (well we kind of had to two times out of the three). While I wasn’t able to see anything of the city during the first two overnights, the last time I wanted to stay somewhere central and went for the newly opened Hotel Magnolia directly in the heart of Santiago’s Lastarria district, the loveliest of all neighbourhoods. Being presented on Mr & Mrs Smith, I was expecting to find a solid boutique hotel with a local approach. After our flight with another exhausting airline (SKY Chile) we landed – quite surprisingly – on time at the airport of Santiago and took an Uber to the centre. Once we arrived at the Hotel Magnolia we were pleasantly astonished by the striking architecture of the building.
Unfortunately the impressed feeling didn’t stay too long since check-in can simply be described as chaotic. The guy behind the front desk seemed that he either didn’t sleep last night or he was simply not able to fulfil his (little) work. It was by far the weakest check-in I have ever experienced and unfortunately even worse than at a budget hotel. But, we all have had our first week and maybe he was just left alone (god knows why) so it is unfair to judge the hotel based on the first encounter. Soon afterwards we were able to see our room on the first floor which was quite spacious for Santiago standards and even had some last sun rays falling into the room. While the room was airy with two super comfy twin beds and two cool armchairs, the views went onto the courtyard rather than the city’s skyline. There was a well-equipped minibar, a coffee machine as well as a bright bathroom with walk-in shower, toilet and single vanity. Even though the brand of the toiletries was not known to me, they smelled nice and the towels were brand new as were the linen and the entire bed - so a huge plus overall.
Due to the fact that it was already 8pm, we were looking for a casual place to dine around the hotel. Thanks to the wise location selection, it didn’t take a minute until we found a place that suited us both. Right around the corner, we found one of the best burger shops in Chile, called Holy Moly and definitely the right place for a bite before heading to Bellavista or bedding yourself in the heavenly beds at Magnolia. Since neither of the latter two was an option for us, we took the elevator to the seventh floor and inspected Magnolia’s rooftop bar for two excellent Pisco Sours. I actually loved their bar with the glass floors looking onto the seven floors below (nothing if you are afraid of heights) and the views onto Castillo Hidalgo and the Santa Lucia Hill. Service up here was interestingly so different from all other departments. It seemed like a different management even though it wasn’t.
Simply because we had a bed & breakfast arrangement, we got out of bed for breakfast. In the end it turned out that while the buffet is quite big and they offer everything you may need, quality was slightly leaking. I didn’t find the bread to be as good as in other same-category hotels and the eggs didn’t look inviting. On the other end I have to mention the lovely staff that always encouraged us to eat more and asked if they can serve us any coffee or tea. Soon afterwards we had to check-out in order to make it on time to our next meeting at the Sixt downtown office. Generally said, Hotel Magnolia is a great deal considering the acceptable price, the state-of-the-art rooms as well as the perfect location, however I would recommend booking a room only package and heading to a nearby bar.
We were guests of the Hotel Magnolia Santiago for editorial purposes, however all above written has not been influenced according to the freedom of press.
